Flash Fiction World

Promotion: we've all heard about it, but in today's Internet world full of Twitters and Tweets and multiple Facebook personalities, many authors are having a hard time keeping their message on track.

I belong to several professional writer groups and a current conversation at one of the listserves is about the real-life effect of using social media to promote an author's work. There's only so many people or "friends" we can reach and the questions revolve around how to cast a wider net.

After publishing last month Freeze Frame: How to Write Flash Memoir I sat down to plot a strategy. One of which was to contact blogs and on-line sites dedicated to flash. That's how I stumbled upon Flash Fiction World. At the site are definitions and examples of flash--specifically fiction. I was particularly struck by the various definitions given for flash.
 snip--
I once asked an avid FF reader friend of mine "what is flash fiction to you?" With a smile she said "The difference between sanity and madness." She went on to explain that as a part-time employee and single mother of two toddlers, a well-written FF story gives her a break from her life when one is not available through other means. That break is of a quality that she can't fully define. But it feels to her, after reading a good, complete story in five minutes, that she has been away from her own life for a lot longer. She feels refreshed and mentally rested after a good read.

What is flash fiction? A form of healing.

Long live flash fiction.
snip--
I contacted the man behind Flash Fiction World who graciously included a guest blog from me with links to Freeze Frame for his weekly Flash Fiction World newsletter. Though technically I'm not writing about how to write fiction, there is a lot of blurring between the genres of fiction and memoir. One seems to beget the other.

Interestingly enough Flash Fiction World is based in the UK (good thing Amazon, who is distributing my e-book, sells worldwide!)FFW has a whole page dedicated to its writers with inspiring bios. Please consider checking out Flash Fiction World and possibly submitting one of your flashes. click here for submission guidelines. The cast of writers is truly international--which leads me to:

INTERNATIONAL FLASH FICTION DAY. June 22, 2013. Join with hundreds of thousands of like-minded writers in celebrating. Write a flash, something memoirish.

PROMPT: Fireworks. Do you remember the first time you set out on the lawn, the rooftop, the stadium and watched the blooms of sparks explode above your head? Remember the smell of sulfur in the air, the way you felt when the M80s boomed and the sound hit you in the chest? Remember sitting with your family, your group of friends, that one special person? And, did the fireworks signify the beginning of summer, the end?

Now, go forth and flash--and consider buying my book: Freeze Frame where you'll find many other prompts and exercises to help you isolate and freeze frame memories and get them out on paper!


Comments